Videos

I’ve been fortunate to have been asked to speak at two TEDx events in Vilnius, and one in Bucharest. I was then asked if I would be the host of TEDx Vilnius.

I’ve been rather fortunate to have been asked to host TEDx Vilnius again and again, and then Klagenfurt, Bucharest and Vienna. I try to bring a style to hosting:it’s really hard work as one is on the go all the time. The audience has to be made to feel at ease with each other and the speakers: the speakers (some of whom can get nervous when presented with the lights and cameras) have to feel really at ease in order to deliver their best, and finally the amazing group of volunteers and technical staff have to feel comfortable that if something goes wrong I can step in and smooth all the waters. I pride myself in making it all natural and without any drama. But what I think I really bring to the event is an ability to think on my feet: to act swiftly and to interview speakers on stage once they have delivered their talk in a humorous but searching way. This brings speakers ‘to life’ and encourages members of the audience to talk to them – the time taken from a minute to three or four also serves as a great interstitial allowing people to go for comfort beaks and to gives time for the stage to be reorganised without disturbing the flow of the conference.

And that’s what i think a good host should do. Make everything work, without taking anything away. What I do must seem invisible.

I remember 2016 TEDx Vilnius which was very special and broke records for people watching on line, as well as in various locations across Lithuania. There’s a very short piece made for the amazing group of volunteers who make TEDx Vilnius and all the other TEDx conferences such successes. It captures the spirit of the event really well.

Here are three videos shot on TEDx talks. They’re a bit long though, sorry.

I love going to Vilnius. This was my first invitation to TEDx: I was on last, so sat through extraordinarily engaging presentations delivered by great people and wondered whether I would ever hold the audience….

Bucharest, in the peoples’ palace – a wonderful enormous building. I think that the sheer size of the building rather threw me!

Back to Vilnius: this time the audience was even larger: those Vilnius organisers are really great. For some reason this makes me look as though I am half asleep: just one of those moments when I blinked at just the wrong time